SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – Canada, who is represented by Trinity Western University's men's volleyball team, remained undefeated after three outings at the Pan-American Cup following their victory over Puerto Rico 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19) on Sunday.  
 
Jackson Howe (Calgary), Brodie Hofer (Langley, B.C.) and Jesse Elser (Calgary) finished with 17, 16 and 15 points, respectively, as the top scorers for Canada. Isaiah Olfert (Winnipeg) and Jordan Schnitzer (Surrey, B.C.) each contributed eight points in the victory. 
 
Pedro Molina was the only Puerto Rican player who reached double figures in the scoring sheets. Puerto Rico dropped to a 0-3.

The Spartans have now earned wins over Suriname, Mexico and Puerto Rico, with contests against Dominican Republic (Sept. 6) and the USA (Sept. 7) still remaining in their round robin schedule.

As the defending Canada West and U SPORTS champions, TWU was asked to represent Canada at this year's Pan-American Cup.  

After the tournament, the Spartans men's volleyball team will return to Trinity Western to begin their local preseason games in preparation for their season opener on Nov. 5.

AS IT HAPPENED 
Despite committing 27 serving errors, to Puerto Rico's 17, Canada's strong play held the fort, as the Canadians saw influential efforts from all seven starters. With the Puerto Ricans also holding an 8-7 edge in blocks and with both teams only garnering three aces apiece, it was Canada's playmakers who lifted the team to a win that sees the Canadians settle in at the top of the six-team table through three matches. 

QUOTABLE
Canada Head Coach Ben Josephson
"We knew Puerto Rico had really great ball control. We talked a lot about needing to apply good pressure from the baseline. Clearly, we overdid that. We were way to aggressive for way too long in that match and we just bled points away. We said that if we were just even in the serve-pass phase, we felt that we would have the advantage in the block-transition phase. The problem is that we were so far in the negative in the serve-pass phase, especially in that second set, that it just buried us and it made it really hard to find a rhythm. 

"However, we played really well in every other phase, with the exception of the serve phase. I thought our receivers had their best match of the tournament. I thought our blockers had their best match of the tournament and our transition phase was great. I thought it was Isaiah Olfert's best match of the tournament. So there were a lot of positives. The only negative was serving. But, again, we're finding ways to win in lots of different ways. Every game is bringing a new story and a new lesson to the table. I'm proud of the guys for figuring it out and not dropping too many sets along the way. 

"I made a crucial coaching error in our preparation for this one. About halfway through we had to throw that out the window and I was very worried it was going to cost the team the match. But they picked me up and bailed me out and they won the game despite some really poor prep on my behalf. I'm really proud of them for that. That's the mark of a great team."

Schedule
Sept. 3 - Canada (3) Suriname (0) 
Sept. 4 – Canada (3) Mexico (1)
Sept. 5 – Canada (3) Puerto Rico (1)
Sept. 6 – Canada vs. Dominican Republic – 4 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. ET
Sept. 7 – Canada vs. United States – 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET 
Sept. 8 – Semifinals 
Sept. 9 – Gold and Bronze Medal Matches

Roster 
Colton Loewen – Aldergrove, B.C. 
Jackson Corneil – Surrey, B.C.
Isaiah Olfert – Winnipeg, Man.
Brodie Hofer – Langley, B.C.
Jackson Howe – Calgary, Alta.
Aaron Elser – Calgary, Alta.
Jesse Elser – Calgary, Alta. 
Jordan Schnitzer – Surrey, B.C.
Liam Remple – Vernon, B.C.
Adam Schriemer – Winnipeg, Man.
Derek Epp – Saskatoon, Sask. 
Kaden Schmidt – Mississauga, Ont. 

Staff
Head Coach – Ben Josephson
Assistant Coach – Ben Ball 
2nd Assistant Coach – Jordan Or 
Doctor – Abe Avender 
Physiotherapist – Nick Del Bianco 
Statistician – Anselm Rein
Team Lead – Joel Jansen
Team Manager – Linden Bontkes 

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.

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